Liverpool have now lost three games in a row and Mohamed Salah is receiving a lot of the backlash.
The Reds are going through a rough patch right now and as this is the first time this has happened under Arne Slot, fans are a little worried.
Not only have they been poor defensively and let in far too many goals, but their attack is not as free-flowing as it once was.
One reason for this is that Salah is yet to reach the levels that everyone knows he can, with the Egyptian rather quiet in almost every game so far.
As well as failing to make an impact in the final third, Gabby Agbonlahor also believes that he is costing his team in another way, with the winger doing something that only Lionel Messi can get away with.
Mohamed Salah is costing Liverpool by not tracking back
Being compared to Messi would almost always be seen as a real honour, but in this case, it is more of a backhanded compliment.
The Argentine is known to not track back very much at all, although he has earned this reward due to just how good he is in attack.
Salah has also adopted a similar approach under Slot, but Agbonlahor believes that it is now backfiring as Liverpool are being left short in transition.
“The defensive part is right (about the criticism towards Salah) because the number of times Cucurella was going forward and it’s two-v-one on Conor Bradley and Salah sort of tries to press a little bit then just stops and relaxes like we have seen [Lionel] Messi do time and time again over his career,” he said on talkSPORT.
“Liverpool can’t afford to be a man down defensively. You can tell when Mo Salah is not at it because defenders are starting to [say]: ‘Go on try and run me’. Cucurella and [Benoit] Badiashile were getting really tight to him and said: ‘Go on try to run me on the outside’ and whenever he did, they took the ball off him.
“Cucurella had him in his pocket the whole 96 minutes. But what options do Liverpool have naturally to replace Salah? Frimpong can play on the right of midfield but he’s not been at it this season so you can see why he’s stayed on in games and can get you that goal.
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“It feels harsh ever criticising him. “We’re still early in the season. I’m sure Mo Salah is his biggest critic and knows he could have done better.
“It’s hard to criticise Mo Salah, It just doesn’t feel right but Arne Slot has probably got to look at it and say: ‘You’ve got to do your defensive responsibilities’.”
Mohamed Salah needs to get back to his best
Ever since he joined, Liverpool have relied fairly heavily on Salah’s goals, although as others were also scoring, he could sometimes get away with not performing.
But now, with everyone else around him also struggling, his downturn in form is much more noticeable, with it becoming a real problem for the Reds.
So if there is ever a time to stand up and be counted, it is now, with Liverpool desperately needing him to find his shooting boots once again.
If not, their title defence might derail very quickly, and Salah’s Anfield career may soon come to an end.
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